March 27, 2011

Jay bilas, the egotistical, self-aggradizing college basketball know-it-all currently employed by ESPN is eating a ton of crow right now. With VCU's impressive victory over Kansas, Bilas looks even dumber for his criticism of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Selection Committee's decision to include VCU in the mens basketball tournament.

To be clear, Bilas called the selection of VCU "indefensible" and caused Bilas to question if the Selection Committee knew the "ball was round".

As VCU began winning games in the tournament, Bilas began back-tracking, claiming that VCU's victories in the tournament did not mean Bilas was wrong about his criticism of the Selection Committee.

Wrong, Jay. That is exactly what it means. Bilas claims "My arguments had to do with selection, not performance."

Really? That is the best you can do Bilas? That is the dumbest argument I have ever heard.

Teams are selected based on performance. Not only performance in the regular season, but anticipated performance in the tournament itself. By selecting VCU to play in the tournament, the Selection Committee was making a statement - the selection of VCU meant that the Selection Committee thought VCU could win the tournament. So by criticizing the selection of VCU, you were also criticizing the Selection Committee's judgment that VCU could perform in the tournament.

I used to like Bilas, but his rant against VCU during the selection process was over the top. Bilas is a Dookie, and as we all know Duke Blue Devils are the snobs of the college basketball world. Bilas is Exhibit A. If your team isn't from a "power conference" then the fact that you get into the tournament is a favor - you should just be thankful, shut up, and let the REAL basketball team (like Duke, Kansas, Ohio State, etc.) play.

He owes VCU an apology. Will he give them one? Of course not. He is too arrogant and egotistical to do so. Instead he will continue to spin his criticism every-which-way.

October 24, 2010

A lot going on this weekend, which means a lot to comment on. Not that anyone out there really cares what I think about Michigan State going 7-0 for the first time since 1964, Missouri's win over Number 1 ranked Oklahoma, and the Giants winning the pennant last night in Philly.

Michigan State Going 7-0 For the First Time Since 1964

The only reason why I want to bring this up is to remind everyone of one of the best meltdowns that ever occurred on talk radio. This rant is from Mike Valenti from the Sports Inferno, and is easily one of the best meltdowns in the history of Sports Talk radio. I wonder how Mr. Valenti feels about his Spartans now.

Yet another Number 1 team goes down to defeat for the third week in a row. As an Oregon State Beaver fan, that means that I am going to have to listen to arrogant Duck fans tell me how great their team is (until next week when the USC Trojans beat the Quackers).

It is unbelievable to me that three number one teams have lost. It is even more unbelievable to me that three team have lost in a row! It is almost like no one wants the number one ranking. Number 1 seems to be college football's version of the Scarlett Letter.

What the three consecutive losses demonstrate (as well as Mississippi State's victory over Florida in the Swamp) is the parity that exists in college football. Which means that every college football team can be beat at any time. It also reaffirms the old addage that teams always "get themselves up" to play top-ranked teams - which should serve as a warning to the Ducks (and whichever team is ranked No.1 after the Duckies lose to USC this weekend) that they have to bring their 'A' game every week.

The Giants Win The Pennant! The Giants Win The Pennant!

Just awesome. Just awesome. I don't mean to sound like I am stuttering, but I am sooooo excited that the Giants made it to the World Series. So many of the so-called experts had already written the Phillies into the World Series, claiming the Giants did not have a chance in hell of reaching the Fall Classic.

HAH!!!!

The difference between the Giants and the Phillies is this: teamwork. The Giants play as a team, whereas the Phillies are a bunch of stars who rely on their individual talents to win games. Don't get me wrong, the Phillies are a great team, but they are not the same team that the Giants are, and that is why the Giants won the National League Pennant.

October 12, 2010

Congrats to former Beaver Keaton Kristick for making the 49ers 53-man roster and actually playing in Sunday night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Keaton had one tackle (on special teams). Pretty good for an undrafted rookie free-agent. It shows the 49ers have confidence that Keaton is going to be a contributor to the team for years to come.

November 26, 2008

OK, for those of you not from Oregon and who may have stumbled on this post randomly, we are talking about the annual football game against Oregon State University and the University of Zero Oregon for the right to live in the state of Oregon. Don't get your panties in a wad over this post, please.

It strikes me that Duck fan has a real conflict with the upcoming Civil War game. I don't think it is much of a stretch to state that the overwhelming number of Duck fans are followers of Obama and subscribe to Obama's economic philosophy of "spreading the wwealth". In terms of the PAC-10, and the Civil War, application of Obama's "spreading the wealth" economic policies means that Oregon State University must win the Civil War, and here is why.

Right now, every team in the PAC-10 is guaranteed to get $450,000 as a share of the payout for one PAC-10 team participating in a BCS Bowl game. Because the PAC-10 is a BCS conference, the PAC-10 is guaranteed to have at least one team in a BCS game, which means that each team (even the crappy ones like Washington and Washington State), will get $450,000.

If the PAC-10 were to send twoteams to BCS bowl games, the amount of money each team in the PAC-10 would receive would be doubled - or $900,000.

It is a foregone conclusion that the Trojans of SUC will be in a BCS bowl game. But, if the Beavers beat the Ducks in the Civil War this weekend, then the PAC-10 will send TWOteams to the BCS, which means more money for all of the schools in the conference.

Also consider that the Ducks' bowl position is pretty well set between either the Holiday Bowl or the Vegas Bowl. The Ducks will get paid for going to either of those bowls. Plus, don't forget the Ducks have plenty of money from their "Uncle Phil" (Phil Knight, that is). The bottom line is, the Ducks have plenty of money, they can afford to spread the wealth.

It would be very George Bush/Dick Cheney/Karl Rove/Halliburton of the Ducks to try and win the Civil War this weekend. How dare they deprive the other PAC-10 schools of the extra money that comes along with having another team in the BCS! The Obama economic policy - which Duck fans faithfully adhere to - demands that the Ducks lose the Civil War in order to spread the wealth. Obama the Messiah demands nothing less!

So for you Duck fans who also supported NoBama, I trust that you are not being hypocritical, and you are rooting for Oregon State to win the Civil War in order to "spread the wealth". That is the way Obama would want it to be.

November 24, 2008

7:33 p.m.: Kahut misses a PAT that would have tied the game. The 48,503 fans inside Arizona Stadium erupt.

Kahut pushes the kick left of the upright, just his second missed point-after of the season. Instantly, Arizona's strategy changes: Rather than try to drive to win the game, the Wildcats choose to preserve a one-point lead and run the clock.

"I wish he had made the extra point because they would have played us differently," UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said afterward.

7:36 p.m.: The Wildcats return the ensuing kickoff and take over on Oregon State's 25-yard line.

● Keola Antolin runs up the middle on first down, gaining 2 yards. Oregon State takes its first timeout.

● Willie Tuitama drops back to pass, tucks and is sacked for a 1-yard loss. The clock runs.

● On third-and-nine, Tuitama runs again. This time, he steps up in the pocket, darts right and gains 10 yards — and a first down.

The Arizona Stadium crowd responds with cheers, thinking the Wildcats have iced the game. About 3 minutes remain on the clock.

● On first-and-10 from the 36, Antolin takes a run left for 2 yards. Oregon State calls its second timeout.

● On second-and-eight from Arizona's 38, the UA runs its "big" set with Rob Gronkowski and Chris Gronkowski blocking. Antolin is stuffed for no gain.

● Arizona takes a timeout with 1 second remaining on the play clock. Keenyn Crier then unloads a punt through the back of the end zone. Oregon State takes over with 1:19 remaining.

7:44 p.m.: Oregon State takes over at its own 20-yard line, trailing by 1 point.

● On first-and-10, quarterback Sean Canfield rolls left and finds Jeremy Francis for a 20-yard completion. Francis stays in bounds. The clock runs.

● On first-and-10 from Oregon's 40, Canfield finds Francis over the middle again for a 6-yard gain. Francis takes two steps then flips the ball to the sideline where James Rodgers catches it and steps out of bounds at Oregon's 46, stopping the clock with 58 seconds remaining.

Kahut begins warming up on the sideline.

● On second-and-four from Oregon's 46, Canfield calls a play — "Yo Wing Stat Brown Stab" — designed to get the Beavers inside Arizona's red zone. Asked to explain the play afterward, Canfield said the play means "down to the 3-yard line."

Canfield lines up under center, drops and sees wide receiver Sammie Stroughter streaking down the left hash. Stroughter beats Devin Ross, catches the ball at the 10 and stumbles to Arizona's 7 for a 47-yard gain.

"They ran a play-action wheel play and got behind out containment on the pass to Stroughter," UA coach Mike Stoops said.

Kahut kicks and connects. The field goal sails directly through the uprights and over the protective screen. Kahut shakes hands with Kavanaugh just before the surging Beavers' bench, led by Darrell Catchings and Victor Butler mobs him. Kahut is carried off the field.

"I felt confident going out there because I really didn't think me missing the PAT was how it was going to go down," Kahut said. "As a kicker, you want to be in that situation. I was either going to be a hero or a zero, and tonight I guess I was a little bit of both."

November 16, 2008

Every time we win a game in an "ugly" way, I have to remind myself that it wasn't too long ago that Beaver Nation would take a win any way we could get it. It was just 10 years ago that the Beavers were 5-6 and suffering through our 28th straight losing season. Only 10 years ago......

But, 10 years lat er, Beaver Nation is somewhat spoiled because we now have some room to complain about a win as not being "pretty" enough. Yesterday's game certainly falls in that category - it was ugly and not much fun. The bottom line is that we would have blown out Cal had we not made a number of mistakes such as Moevao's interception, that stupid facemask call on Brady Camp that negated a 30 yard run by Quizz, and the half-dozen or so missed tackles by the defense.

The Beavers' Defense and Offsensive Line deserves the credit for the win yesterday. I don't know what the opposite of getting the game ball is (that is, the reward for the player who contributed the least to the outcome of the game), but I think The Smile earned it. The Smile looked rusty, and a little gun-shy. If we make the same mistakes, and The Smile plays the same way, against Arizona, Beaver Nation can say bye-bye to their Rose Bowl hopes.

So now we are off to Tuscon to play the Wildcats, who scored 45 points last week against Faber College and still lost. What scares me is that the Wildcats scored 45 points, but I have reserved optimism for the fact that the Wildcats' defense (supposedly the strength of the team) gave up 55 points to Faber College.

One win at a time. But this one is on the road. Nervous? Yes. But I am sure Coach Riley will have the team read to go on Saturday.